So much to be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving from grandkids Micah and Madison, a picture sent from the farm in Tennessee by their mother Julie. What a great tree for climbing and sitting. And what lucky grandparents we are!






Mattison's Riverside provided turkey and fixings to the marina residents, who brought potluck for a Thanksgiving dinner by the pool. Not the traditional Thanksgiving setting for native Tennesseans, but a wonderful dinner with great weather (80s and sunny) and good company. The Captain and Admiral surprised themselves (and everyone else) by being the last to leave...at the staggering hour of 9 p.m.!! It obviously takes us longer than some people to discuss world peace....

Hat Favre

It was retired....now it's not. The Mayberry birthday hat was too famous to retire, so Poor Old Judy got to wear it again. She was treated to an evening of fun by her daughters Allyson and Kathryn, beginning at Twin Dolphin and continuing at Mattison's and Cork's. One of the best features of the hat now is the coonskin tail in the back, which is really a toy weasel. Necessity is truly the mother of invention!

Goodbye friends.....and hello again

Tuck and Kathy, our neighbors on the infamous C dock at Twin Dolphin, have worked all summer (in blistering heat) getting their boat ready to cruise again. They've sanded, primed, painted, scraped, sworn, sipped, sewed, and cleaned for months. Finally, after having produced an almost brand new boat, they planned their departure for Saturday. We were sad to see them go, but happy for them too. We had a little get-together Friday evening to say goodbye....toasts all around and have a good trip. Saturday morning the guys helped them cast off and they headed for Egmont Key to spend the night before heading south for the Keys. S/v Mariah looked majestic (and clean and shiny) as they left.




























































And then on Sunday morning............here they were! Unfortunately, the transmission refused to go in reverse and the VHF radio chose to not work. So they're back making a few repairs before they leave again. Tuck also had a bad cold, so he got to convalesce back on C dock. We really think they just wanted another party.

Turn around, settle down, go again

We got back from Tennessee on Thursday, and left Friday morning for the RV show in Tampa. We were joined by Lyle and Mickie in their new motor home, and had a good time looking at all the choices available in the show. Some were small enough to drive onto our boat, and some were large enough to house a family of 6 -- in style! Prices range from a few thousand to a few million, so there's a lot to look at.

After leaving the show Saturday afternoon, we went to St. Pete because our friends Jerry and Lynn (we traveled for a few weeks on the Great Loop with them aboard m/v Sea La Vie) were there for a week's visit with Lynn's brother Jim. We spent a wonderful evening visiting in the garden paradise at Jim and Jorge's house.





The company was excellent, the scenery superb, and a good time was had by all. The Admiral got a great fur fix from sweet Roxie.
























We convinced Lynn and Jerry to join us Sunday afternoon at Ft. Desoto Park for dinner and a walk on the beach. It's a beautiful park on the north side of the Tampa Bay shipping channel and was voted one of the best in the nation for beaches and facilities. Each campsite was private, with tropical greenery on both sides. Lyle and Mickie came back to join us, and we spent two nights being lazy, wining and dining, and enjoying the company. We rolled out the chairs, grills, rugs, music, and maybe one or two adult beverages. Lyle made his special coffee drinks each afternoon, and they are SOME kind of wonderful! Mickie loves to cook, we love to eat, and life was good. We continued the tradition of photographing the Twin Dolphin burgee by having Sade and Bubba (her new little brother) hold it for us.

Headed north (but not for long)

We had the pleasure of spending a few days in Georgia babysitting for grandchildren Madison and Micah while their parents got a much-needed break in South Carolina attending the annual Marine Ball. Madison and Micah are of course perfect children, having come from an excellent gene pool. They truly light up our lives, and the only problem is not getting to see them enough.

We headed for Tennessee afterward to visit oldest son John, the Admiral's mom, and youngest son Jesse and his wife Brittany. All are fine, and even though we nearly froze on the trip north, the weather turned gorgeous for the week we were there, with temperatures in the low 80s. Jesse and Brittany are house-shopping in Chattanooga, so we got to crawl around as part of the inspection team. Hopefully the search will end soon with the perfect house.